Jonathan Myer

Jonathan Myer Col. Jonathan Myer, retired. Jonathan Myer, 88, a long-time resident of the City of Alexandria, Virginia and veteran of the United States Air Force (USAF) died April 21 of natural causes. He passed peacefully, surrounded by family. Col. Myer was born in London, England and grew up in the Golder’s Green suburb of London. He moved with his family to the United States at the age of 16, where his English education qualified him to attend college. He attended Columbia University from the age of 16 to the age of 20. During his time at university, he was a captain of his school’s rifle team and participated in ROTC. Upon completing his undergraduate degree at Columbia University, he entered the Armed Forces as an officer in the USAF in 1956, where “he learned how to fly a plane before he learned how to drive a car.” He got his appointment as a 1st Lieutenant in 1960 and was assigned to the 13th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Glasgow AFB, Montana. During his career as a pilot, he flew several aircraft. His main flying assignments were in the F-86L “Sabrejet” (1958-1959), the F-101B/F “Voodoo” interceptors (1959-1970), and the O-1E/G “Bird Dog” (1966-1967). He flew the F-101 while receiving elite pilot training at the Air Force Interceptor Weapons School (IWS) at Tyndall AFB in Panama City, FL and with the Air/Aerospace Defense Command (ADC) in Colorado Springs, CO. And he flew the O-1E as a Forward Air Controller (FAC) in the Republic of Viet Nam. While deployed, he flew sorties in the small, single engine plane, performing visual reconnaissance (VR) and airstrike control missions in Viet Nam, as well as a short stint flying interdiction sorties over the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). After Viet Nam he returned to IWS as an instructor. While he was stationed at the ADC in Colorado Springs, he also helped develop the “Master Plan” for the Defense Air Command. His final stations during his long career brought him to Northern Virginia and the Pentagon. His last four years on the Air Staff (1974-1978) involved support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) program, requiring frequent travel to NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and other European capitals. He spent a year at the Industrial College of Armed Forces (ICAF) at Ft. McNair, D.C. (1978-1979), then returned to the Pentagon where he resumed trips to Europe for both NATO AWACS and the potential Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS). MIDS was a prospective NATO program based on the then-Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (J-TIDS), which was an advanced data link program for all tactical forces, managed at the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). He was involved with both programs during his four years in OSD (1979-1983). He retired in 1983 after serving over 26 years. Col. Myer continued to work in the private sector for a government contractor, The Analytic Sciences Corp, Inc. (TASC), which was acquired by Northup Grumman in 2001. He retired again, this time from Northrup Grumman, after another 18 years in the private sector. In retirement Col. Myer enjoyed spending time with his family and grandkids, as well as playing his 12-string guitar. He was a singer/songwriter of several military ballads and could be found explaining and singing his songs on the National Mall at the Memorial Day Writer’s Project tent, as well as military reunions and songfests. He was a co-director of the non-profit The Society of Old Bold Aviators (SOBA) and has several songs and CDs to his credit. Col. Myer was predeceased by his only daughter, Shelley Ann Myer in 2006. Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Brenda Myer, his four sons, Nathaniel, Reuben, Samuel and Michael, and five grandkids.

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Jonathan Myer

March 19, 1936 - April 21, 2024